Notes and Editorial Reviews

“The marriage of the King’s Singers and Charivari Agre?able has created the ‘dream-team’ for this enchanting addition to the late middle-Barque repertoire... The ensemble is unbeatable. The six King’s Singers blend superbly... Not to be missed” -- 5 star performance, BBC Music Magazine (May 2010)

“they seem to become instruments themselves; shape, blend and sensitivity to the meaning of the words exudes from every musician. Pachelbel could hardly wish for better 21st-century advocates than these... "invigorating, sensitive, heartfelt and gloriously melodious....Pachelbel sets out his stall as a composer of significant and individual talent." -- Classic FM Magazine (May 2010) Disc of the Month

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"Each piece is beautifully served by the ensemble." 4 stars, Sunday Times (14th March 2010)

“a bright rainbow of colours – just right for the music’s sunny demeanour. “ 4 stars, The Times (March 2010)

Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706) is the famous member of the family, two sons being mentioned as well in The New Grove. While his longest tenure was in Erfurt (12 years), the position where these works originated was St. Sebaldus in Nürnberg, his birthplace, which enjoyed “the most musically sumptuous presentation of Vespers in the whole of Protestant Germany,” as the director writes in his very literate annotation. He remained there until his death 11 years later. Well into the second century of Lutheranism, the Mass and Vespers were still being sung in Latin. From the evidence of this disc, the psalms and hymn may have been replaced by vernacular settings, for we hear only five settings of the ingressus, as the initial versicle came to be known, and two settings of the Magnificat, the canticle that climaxed the celebration. The two sonatas are inserted into the program for variety.

While the notes refer to “Pachelbel’s Vespers,” the catalog of his works actually includes 12 ingressus and 13 Magnificats, so this is just a sample. At least six of the Magnificats are currently available on records. We had a fine recording made in St. Sebaldus (Fanfare 9:6; 13:1; 18:2) that included a Magnificat (not one of these). The New Grove article calls the Magnificat settings “the summit of his creative powers.” These performances put all these pieces in their best light, for even the modest ingressus are executed with considerable flair. Along with another disc issued for the anniversary year (31:6), we now have a fair representation of Pachelbel’s choral works. As the annotator says, “the captivating but ubiquitous ‘Canon à 3’ ” no longer obscures the broader range of his output.

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